1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a flow path connecting device for automatically interconnecting flow paths of liquids to communicate with each other or for separating the flow paths from each other, or to a recording apparatus for supplying inks from the outside of a carrier including the flow path connecting device.
2. Description of the Related Art
A recent printing apparatus for a business purpose is expected to reduce the number of replacing times and running costs, so that a large capacity is required of an ink tank that contains a printing ink.
An apparatus that performs printing by moving a carrier having a printing mechanism in a direction perpendicular to a printing sheet feeding direction generally mounts an ink tank on the carrier.
However, this method has disadvantages, for example, if size of the carrier or weight of the ink tank is increased the speed of the carrier will decrease, or the size of a carrier motor must be increased to compensate for the reduction in speed. To solve such a problem, the ink tank can be arranged separately from the carrier, and the carrier printing mechanism and the ink tank can be interconnected through a tube.
In such a tube connection method, the length of the tube needs to be set in anticipation of carrier movement. This method also has problems such as a detrimental influence of tube rigidity on the carrier movement, incursion of air into the ink from the outside of the tube, and evaporation of ink water to the outside of the tube, which makes it difficult to select a tube material.
As an example of a solution to the aforementioned problems, an ink supply mechanism is discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-113879. In this ink supply mechanism, a connection mechanism that divides an ink supply path is disposed between an apparatus main-body having a large-capacity ink tank and a moveable carrier having a printing mechanism. The connection mechanism at main-body side and the connection mechanism at a carrier-side are configured such that an ink flow path is formed to supply the ink to the carrier side when connected together, and leakage of the ink from each connection mechanism can be prevented when separated from each other.
However, in the case of the supply mechanism and the operation discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-113879, there is a possibility that when the connection mechanisms are separated from each other, the ink left in each connection mechanism will scatter and contaminate a printing sheet.